Beckett Mason Byer is one. Our baby is one.
Tears stream and stream and stream as I write this. Tears of
gratefulness, tears of joy, tears because I’m undeserving, tears for the
memories, tears for God’s mercy, tears for God’s compassion, tears for God’s
unending love.
It is never, ever lost on me that our son is a miracle. The
fact that we get to raise him; it’s a gift. It is because God intervened that
Beckett Mason is here with us today. It is because God protected him that he is
developmentally absolutely normal. It is because God managed every moment,
every decision, every medical professional on November 12, 2016 and in the days
after. He heard every cry, every scream, every prayer we prayed that night. I
continue to pray the same prayer over Beckett that I screamed to God as we
rolled into the OR that night. “Lord, please protect our son.” Such a simple
prayer, yet those words are the most powerful words I’ve ever spoken. In the hours before I could be transferred to be with Beckett, the Holy
Spirit continually reminded me, “God is good all the time. All the time He is
good.” Over and over, these words played in my head. The presence of God was
tangible on the night of Beckett’s birth and in our days spent in the
NICU.
We were just back at the University of Minnesota for a
one-year checkup for Beckett with our neonatal physician. Beckett also
underwent a developmental assessment with the team. He is completely on track
developmentally. Praise our good God. We were told that they have never assessed
a child who’s APGAR score at birth was a 0, much less one who’s APGAR score was
0 and assessed as a completely normal 12 month old. When specialists in the
medical field look at you and tell you that there is no medical explanation for
Beckett’s case and that he truly is a miracle, it is utterly overwhelming.
Why do I share this? To glorify our good God. He is good.
All the time, He is good. Through the valleys, He is good. In the best of
times, He is good. He is faithful. He loves us. He is compassionate. He is
merciful.
Psalm 145:10-12 – “All your works praise you, Lord; your
faithful people extol you. They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of
your MIGHT, so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious
splendor of your kingdom.”
Beckett Mason's First Days of Life:
Our Big One Year Old (photography credit goes to Antonia Kay Photography (http://antonia-balliet.squarespace.com)):
